Findings and Recommendations Report on Nashville Classical Charter School Appeal Released

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                  CONTACT: Elizabeth Tullos                                                                                                                                                                                             Elizabeth.Tullos@tn.gov
                                                                                                                                                                                                             615-741-0762

Findings and Recommendations Report on Nashville Classical Charter School Appeal Released

This morning, the State Board of Education’s Executive Director, Dr. Sara Morrison, released the report of her findings regarding the charter agreement amendment appeal submitted by Nashville Classical Charter School (NCCS); in her report, Dr. Morrison recommends that members of the State Board overturn the Metro Nashville Board of Education’s denial of a charter amendment petition for NCCS.

Tennessee Code Annotated (T.C.A.) § 49-13-110 and State Board emergency rule 0520-14-01-.06 allow a charter school to appeal the denial of a charter amendment petition to the State Board of Education.  In order to overturn the decision of the local board of education, the State Board must find that the local board’s decision to deny the charter amendment petition was contrary to the best interests of the students, local education agency (LEA), or community.

Upon receipt of the appeal from NCCS, the State Board staff began their review process, which included an examination of the documentation included in the notice of appeal and the local board’s decision to deny the amendment petition. Additionally, the State Board held a public hearing in the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) district where NCCS operates.

During the review process, Dr. Morrison and the State Board staff found that the Metro Nashville Board of Education’s decision to deny the charter amendment petition was not in the best interests of the students, LEA or community because NCCS is a high performing charter school serving a high-need population. The school has sustained long-term high academic, operational, and financial performance, and the school receives significantly more applications that they have in seat capacity. Additionally, State Board staff found that NCCS met the performance requirements set by the Metro Nashville Public Schools to amend a charter agreement, and the MNPS Office of Charter Schools had recommended approval of the amendment petition to the local board.

The full Executive Director’s Findings and Recommendations Report is available on the State Board of Education website. Members of the Board will vote on NCCS’s amendment appeal at their February 7, 2020 meeting. State staff will discuss the Executive Director’s reports and the findings to board members at the board’s workshop on February 6, 2020.

Meeting materials, including the executive director’s reports, are available on the State Board of Education website.

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The Tennessee State Board of Education is a ten-member, governor-appointed and legislatively confirmed board charged under the law with rulemaking and policymaking for K-12 education. Through a close partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education, the Board maintains oversight in K-12 implementation and academic standards.